Truth Undercover
by SCIK1012
Summary: After getting stuck inside a dead rock golem, Finn finds himself rolling down hill into the Fire Kingdom. Of course, crushing the Neo-Flame King wasn't part of his plans. Much less befriending her under a curious alter ego and listening to a couple of casual confessions, regarding to a certain Finn the Human… accidentally. –Two-Shot–
1. Truth Undercover

**Truth Undercover**

Pumped, today he was pumped. Today, Finn had awakened with the enthusiasm to beat the math out of any bad guy in his way, which was perfect to crush Marceline in her own game. The Vampire Queen had challenged him to run with her into a swarm of wild rock golems and see who could crack open more skulls. The prize? All the strawberry milkshakes you can drink, paid by the loser of course.

Finn jumped on top of his third rocky victim, watching anxiously how a giant vampire bat swiped the fields clear with just a swift stroke of her furry arm. He clenched his teeth, upset. _That cheater! Using a transformation ain't fair! _But then again —and he had to admit it— when he and Marceline agreed to do this, they never established any other rules besides: a) Don't die and b) The loser pays the milkshakes. And of course, now that he thought about it, it was clear that Marceline knew that she had the advantage to win the challenge, and that Finn had the money to pay for a thousand strawberry milkshakes in the Tree Fort.

"Dude, I gotta be smarter when dealing with Marcy!" the boy groaned, face-palming himself. "Gal's gonna make us spend all our awesome loot in useless junk!"

Complaining and muttering about his current situation, Finn had seemed to forget that he was standing on top of an enraged rock golem, which saw the chance to curl up, dragging the human down with him, and start rolling towards a nearby mountain. Thankfully, the young hero found his way into the living boulder's mouth before it could start rolling. If not, he would be dead by now.

There were two ways to kill a rock golem; you either thrust your sword into their brains (if your blade is sharp enough to cut through solid granite) or attacking them from the inside. This was how Finn the Human managed to defeat his third prey of the day, slashing off its heart with a fast strike of his Demon Blood Sword. The golem collapsed afterwards, its heavy body lying dead and still.

"Cool." Finn chuckled, his voice echoing within the enclosed stone. "It wasn't that hard! Now let's get outta here!"

The boy crawled to the nearest exit, the golem's mouth. It was closed tight, but this didn't stop Finn. He tried with all his strength to force the monster's jaw open with his fingers, which cracked and throbbed incessantly after few failed attempts.

"So that's how it's gonna be, huh?!" the human exclaimed, unsheathing his sword. "You can't keep me in your stinky guts forever! I'll show ya!"

Slashing his blade non-stop wasn't that useful either. Apparently —and he would have known it if he had cared to read the Enchiridion from time to time when he had it with him— rock golems were harder on the inside than on the outside.

"Oh great… Marcy!" Finn yelled, hoping the vampire would hear him. "Marceline I'm stuck! You win, but get me outta here! Marcy!"

There came no response from the bass player. The human boy climbed to the golem's skull and peeked through its hollow eyes. The Vampire Queen was too busy, slathering the rolling boulders around her to hear him. _Remind me to never hunt rock golems with Marceline again… _the young hero thought, knowing that he would have to wait at least two hours inside there to be rescued.

Bored to death, Finn began to poke the golem's brain with his sword. It was funny because the dead monster would either raise an arm or a leg, depending on where the boy thrust his blade. _Wait a minute! That's it! _He stabbed the brain on the center, turning his weapon into something more or less similar to a joystick.

"Yeah! Just like playin' Beemo!" Finn exclaimed, commanding the rock to get onto its feet. "C'mon dude, get me to Marcy so that she can slash me out of ya!"

Carefully, the boy got the golem to stand up, and then move a foot, and then the other. _Good… We're good… _It seemed simple enough, he just had to repeat that process and soon the ordeal would be over. Move one foot…and then the other… One foot…and then the other… To think that rock golems were such a slow race when it came to walking! Finn soon grew impatient, which led him to venture into trying to make his new body roll. Making it curl into a ball wasn't a problem, neither was pushing it forward.

But man, when the road got sloppy and his rolling boulder began to bounce down hill out of control, now that was a problem! And Finn knew it would be a bigger problem, when he realized he was about to cross the Fire Kingdom's border. Rolling at high speed through the fiery wasteland, protected only by the thick rock skin of the boulder, Finn struggled to keep himself calm.

_C'mon, it can't get any worse than this! I'll stop rollin' eventually and then, I swear to Glob, I'll make my way nice and slowly back home! I'll be more patient and self-controlled next time! Do you like that Grod?! Do you like that!? Alright, I'll stop makin' bets with the Vampire Queen! From now on, it's just the fair play road for me!_

**x~x~x~x~x**

Walking aimlessly through the lonely plains of her kingdom had grown to be part of her daily routine. Flame Princess would make her strolls completely alone, not even Cinnamon Bun was allowed to come with her. It was her personal time of the day, a space for meditation. After all, being a king didn't mean being safe from struggle…internal struggle at least. Walking in silence was useful to help her ease her troubled thoughts. There were still so many things that she couldn't comprehend, so many situations that she didn't seem to be able to control.

Flame Princess raised her head, her eyes catching a glance of a little phoenix in its nest. The mother embraced it with her wings and the father arrived moments later to feed them both. It made her wonder if true families were supposed to be like that, and if that was the case, then why had she been kicked out of the nest when she was only a baby? Dang it, the thought wouldn't leave her mind. It hadn't been fair, perhaps she deserved more than a lantern and evil king for a father…or maybe it was just meant to be that way?

The new king shook her head, hoping to be freed from her pondering. Why did she even care about the way her family was? She didn't need it anymore. The power was hers now, it would never happen again. No one would hurt her anymore. Turning her head, Flame Princess found herself staring with unfading curiosity at a couple of fire wolves. The male was licking its mate's fur, rubbing its body against hers. They both began to run then, chasing each other, making small hops of joy in a playful manner.

Flame Princess sat on a nearby rock, the sun was hiding in the horizon, and she couldn't stop watching. The way the male stared at its partner, approaching her, nuzzling her. The female replied gratefully with equal tenderness; it could be seen in their eyes…the love. Then, the two lied down together, still lavishing each other.

_Why?_ She thought, _why wasn't I allowed to enjoy that kind of love as well?_ Did it even matter for a king like her? Did she need that? Flame Princess sighed, facing the sandy ground. Her shadow was there, staring at her. It was the projection of a powerful being, who could establish order and rule in any way she wanted. The Flame King had the admiration of her subjects, she had Cinnamon Bun, she wasn't alone anymore. Then why did it feel like if something was missing?

The ashen clouds gathering above her, formed shapes in the twilit sky. Flame Princess entertained herself, finding a fluffy skull, a treasure chest and a key. She thought of dungeons and smiled. The clouds continued to drift by, acquiring more funny forms; swords, gauntlets… bear hats… _What's wrong with me?_ She sighed. _Why can't I get over him?_

The clouds moved away, carried by the hot breeze of the Fire Kingdom. Its Princess and King kept observing the now darkened skies, thinking of a certain someone. The first star appeared and with it, the fire girl felt like letting it all out. Her thoughts, her feelings, all of them in a lonesome tune that no one but her could hear…

_Eating up a charcoal chunk,_

_Or burning down a giant trunk._

_I can't_

_Get over you._

_I miss the sizzling on our lips,_

_Cinnamon Bun's eatin' all my chips._

_I just can't_

_Get over you._

_It was your world all I knew,_

_Now I've been left without a clue._

_I can't_

_Get over you._

"Why can't I just—?" Flame Princess asked after finishing her song.

It was a rumble that interrupted her, a roar like thunder. She left her seat and decried the boulder rolling towards her at high speed. The flame ruler stood firmly, waiting defiantly for the golem to come. She bent her knees and stretched her hands forward, ready to receive the humongous threat and stop it with the strength of her body.

What was she even thinking? Flame Princess felt the giant weight crashing against her. She didn't have enough time to transform into her beast form. Her instincts told her to leap aside, the princess did so but her leg was late to avoid the danger. The mysterious golem crashed into a rock formation, which luckily was big enough to stop its rolling.

Flame Princess turned her head towards the unconscious monster and saw her leg trapped under its weight. Even with her royal armor on, the impact had been enough to crush her fiery bones. She pounded the earth with her fists, enraged.

"You broke my leg, you math-head!"

_**To be continued...**_


	2. Awkward Revelations

**Truth Undercover**

**Part II**

**Awkward Revelations**

The world continued to spin for him even after regaining consciousness. If he hadn't broken every single bone in his body, it was because Grod actually heard his desperate prayer. Thankful with the Martian deities, Finn untangled his legs and arms, and searched for his sword. He was lucky it hadn't fallen somewhere unreachable; otherwise the human would have had to grow used to live as a dead golem for the rest of his days.

The young hero regained control of the massive rock body and proceeded to survey his surroundings. Clearly, he was somewhere in the middle of the abrasive plains of the Fire Kingdom, a place suitable enough for a golem, but not for a human. Finn wasn't an expert in Ooo's geography, much less in a poorly explored terrain such as the fiery wasteland. And since he came in rolling, it was obvious that he had no idea of how to get back home.

_Directions, I need directions! Maybe I can ask somebody around here!_

The golem turned its head sideways, searching for somebody, anybody! There wasn't a single soul roaming the deserted landscape that night. Not a Stove Salamander hiding in the red sand, or a Flambit rascal snoring on the multiple rock formations. The human boy was completely alone, or so he thought, until he heard a faint groan somewhere nearby.

"Who's there? Anybody's hanging around here? I need help!" Finn spoke.

It was then that he realized that the hollow stone in which he was stuck, distorted the sound of his voice into a series of incomprehensible grunts. Perfect! Not only did he look, move, and feel like a golem, now he also had to communicate like one.

"Cram it to the butternuts! This is got to be a joke!" the boy yelled, in reality sending out a roar that could scare every single life form nearby.

"Oh, look who finally decided to wake up!" an angry, yet sweet familiar voice replied. "You think you're having a bad day! Well mine is ten times worse, and it's all your fault!"

Finn felt a chill running down his spine. That was Flame Princess' voice for sure, and for sure, she wasn't exactly in a good mood. But where was she? The rock golem turned its heavy head, scanning his surroundings. The fire girl was nowhere to be seen.

Then, he decided to check out the area he had crashed in. The Flame King was lying on her stomach, reclining her bothered features on her clenched fist. Finn the Rock Golem then realized that the flaming ruler's leg was trapped underneath his weighty rear, and that was when he freaked out.

The rock golem jumped back into his heavy feet, shattering the earth beneath them. Once the fiery princess was freed, she immediately tried to flare up and fly away. Sadly, even morphed into fire, her injury stopped the girl from reaching the heights, and gravity tossed her back onto the ground.

Finn ran to her side awfully worried of course, and leaned down to check on her. _Oh Glob, I hope she's okay! Now I've done it! She's gonna hate me forever! What was she doin' here all alone, though?_

"Ugh… You're so lucky I can't move around on my own, 'cause I would've melted your butt! And even if I could, I won't! You wanna know why?" Flame Princess hissed.

"W-why?" the human mumbled nervously. His reply reached the princess' ears as a scared grunt.

"Because I need you to get home, that's why!" the girl yelled, flaring up in anger.

Finn gulped, cursing his bad luck. Couldn't it have been Flambo, or just any other flame citizen? Why of all people, it had to be his ex-girlfriend? Grunting these questions, and probably a good load of complaints as well, the rock golem lifted the bothered king as gently as he could. _What a night…_

**x~x~x~x~x**

"I don't think you rock golems are very bright, are you? I don't think you guys have a heart either, and if you do, it's gotta be hard and cold as stone. I'm surprised you're actually carrying me back home. Or maybe you know I will melt you into magma if you don't take responsibility for the consequences of your acts, after all, you broke my leg!"

At these, Finn rolled his eyes. Flame Princess just wouldn't drop it, would she? He said he was sorry, for the love of Gob!

"But you know? I'm glad you crushed me there. It sorta cleared my mind. I've come to realize I'm the kind of person that won't understand or change anything by listening to advice or instructions. I'm one of those people that learn only by being hit by life, struck by lightning, or punched by the Universe. I often need a good emotional beat up to see my own mistakes."

The human boy heard her laugh softly and he chuckled as well. It seemed that Flame Princess was regaining her good mood, and now that he thought about it, the whole situation was pretty comical. It would be nice if he could, somehow, let her know that he was the rock golem.

"Kinda like Finn, sometimes he's so dense, I feel like punching him in the face!"

Or maybe… it wasn't a good idea at all.

"I can't believe that guy! Seriously, it's his fault I'm in this predicament too! That human is the reason I can never get a good night sleep! You have no idea of everything that twerp has put me through! I destroyed the entire Ice Kingdom because of him! And that's not even the tip of the iceberg! If only I could make him see how messed up I was left on the inside after that day… And then roast him up! How could I let him get away so easily?"

And so her good mood faded away. Finn felt a few drops of sweat rolling down his forehead and neck. The idea of revealing his true identity had been discarded for good. Firstly because the poor human now knew for sure that she would kill him if he did, and secondly, because he felt ashamed of being the main cause of all her emotional and physical pain. Truly ashamed…

"That boy's lucky he looks so cute when he's scared."

Finn let his eyes widen at the princess' last statement. _I look cute when I'm scared? Really?_ He wondered as a blush crept onto his covered face.

"Or just every time I look at him…" she sighed wishfully. "For once it was good to… get to know him as a boyfriend. The first one I ever had… probably the last one too."

"What? Why!" Finn yelped accidentally, appreciating the distortion of his voice.

The young King turned to the golem quizzically. "I bet you don't get a word I'm saying. You guys may just understand like a… 2% of vocabulary, right? I'm sorry the only thing you'll get to hear until we arrive to my castle is mostly girly jibber-jabber. And I don't care if it annoys you! You deserve it for rolling all over Ooo like if you were the King and Lord of the land! Besides…" she whispered, "It's helping me get rid of this knot on my throat… Guess all I ever needed to do was to let my problems out, instead of keeping them to myself… Usually people have a good friend that will listen to them though, but that has never been my case."

_Don't say that FP… I'm here for you! I'm listening…! Why didn't you ever tell me that you felt like that? I thought we still were friends… That's what buddies are for! To listen…_

"For starters, I should be honest to myself before anybody else. I feel that I must admit that Finn the Human, along with my father, is like the rock in the shoe of my life. He's been nothing but a nuisance since the beginning with his: 'I like you!' and stuff! Did he really like me as a fire being? Or did he only like —I don't know— my hair, my eyes… a physical thing! Sure, I wasn't dating Finn for his body either. Although I do think he's got a nice butt… Glob, what the Bjork I'm saying! I shouldn't talk so freely about this stuff! Should I?

_Dunno, but I certainly don't mind __—I mean!— shouldn't be listening either!_

Was it the princess in his arms, the weather of the Fire Kingdom, or just him? Because for some reason things were sure getting hot inside that golem, and it had nothing to do with the new red coloring on the human's cheeks. Did it?

"If I have to say the truth, now that I'm all about it…" the flaming girl continued with a sense of serenity in both her mind and voice. "That guy is as clueless as Cinnamon Bun, but… I know he's just as sweet. And brave, and funny, and everything about him is exciting! I'd like to say I'm thankful with him, because —even if it was for just a short time— he shared all of that with me… and he never asked for anything in return…"

Finn stopped walking for a moment, surprised. Flame Princess still kept something good about him in her heart, even after he wrecked her life. No wonder she let him stay as a friend. The boy caught himself sniffing a tear and quickly regained his composure, and continued walking.

"That's what it is all about, isn't it? Sharing and caring. I know little about love because I barely got to see it or feel it myself in those fourteen years of imprisonment. All I was taught about was evil, and even today I'm surprised about how a simple, honest, and meaningful 'I like you!' can erase a lifetime of loneliness… How the caring of one person, a silly human boy, set me free in one night."

The young hero, touched by the confession of the Flame King (although it felt incredibly weird to think of the flaming girl as such) smiled at his luck. He still wasn't sure if the whole situation he had been through that night could be labeled as good or bad. For the moment, it was good to feel appreciated by Flame Princess, but the boy couldn't help to feel guilty as well. In a way, he was lying to her by keeping his identity hidden, but what could he do? Finn hadn't woken up that morning with the idea of intruding into his ex-girlfriend's deepest thoughts. He couldn't avoid listening to her confessions either. _Should I tell her later? Another day, maybe? _

A soft yawn was heard and Finn the Rock Golem noticed, even more touched now, that the flaming ruler had snuggled in his rocky arms, exhausted. The boy couldn't know if she had lived a tough day, but she sure hadn't been playing around and making bets with the Vampire Queen like him. Finn made a new resolve, to take her home safely and see that her people take care of her broken leg. It was the less he could do after bashing into her personal life like a rolling living-rock ball of destruction. He'd find the time to confess his own truths later, once she gets better.

"Goodnight, EffPee…" the boy whispered, watching her sleep. "It ain't much, but I want you to know that… I still love you…"

"Me too, Finn." The princess replied, and the aforementioned flinched in shock.

–**The End–**


End file.
